Austerity

District Judge Richard Chapman, the new President of the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges, speaking about the austerity measures that will continue to hit litigants in person said: ‘I have every sympathy for the policy makers who have been faced with the dilemma of deciding who has to bear the brunt of the cuts that have been forced on the justice system. But litigants in person have been coming under sustained attack far more than they should. The legal aid scheme is about to be dismantled at a time when lawyers’ fees for contested cases are beyond the reach of all but a small minority. Law centres are shrinking. Court fees are increasing. The value of claims allocated to the Small Claims Track (where even a successful litigant cannot recover legal costs from the unsuccessful party) is to double from £5,000 to £10,000, inevitably leading to a huge increase in claims within the small claims category. County Court staff are not allowed to give advice and obtaining face-to-face help of any kind from County Court staff is set to become well nigh impossible as the opening of court counters to the public seems likely to be restricted to a mere two hours a day.